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Overview

From the New York Times bestselling author of To Desire a Devil comes this thrilling tale of danger, desire, and dark passions.

A MAN CONTROLLED BY HIS DESIRES . . .

Infamous for his wild, sensual needs, Lazarus Huntington, Lord Caire, is searching for a savage killer in St. Giles, London's most notorious slum. Widowed Temperance Dews knows St. Giles like the back of her hand-she's spent a lifetime caring for its inhabitants at the foundling home her family established. Now that home is at risk . . .

A WOMAN HAUNTED BY HER PAST . . .

Caire makes a simple offer-in return for Temperance's help navigating the perilous alleys of St. Giles, he will introduce her to London's high society so that she can find a benefactor for the home. But Temperance may not be the innocent she seems, and what begins as cold calculation soon falls prey to a passion that neither can control-one that may well destroy them both.

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Meet the Author

Elizabeth Hoyt is the New York Times bestselling author of over seventeen lush historical romances including the Maiden Lane series. Publishers Weekly has called her writing "mesmerizing." She also pens deliciously fun contemporary romances under the name Julia Harper. Elizabeth lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with three untrained dogs, a garden in constant need of weeding, and the long-suffering Mr. Hoyt.

The winters in Minnesota have been known to be long and cold and Elizabeth is always thrilled to receive reader mail. You can write to her at: P.O. Box 19495, Minneapolis, MN 55419 or email her at: Elizabeth@ElizabethHoyt.com.

You can learn more at:
ElizabethHoyt.com
Twitter @elizabethhoyt
Facebook.com/ElizabethHoytBooks

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A gem

I hated putting this story down. Recently uncovered this author and find that I truly enjoy her period romances, which is bizarre because I am not usually a romance reader. After reading the Four Soldiers novels, I saw this one and picked it up.

I wasn't disappointed at all.

Wicked Intentions gives you romance with and edge. Characters that are flawed, but realistic, human. Women you don't want to throttle and shake some sense into. A plot that isn't overly predictable. Descriptions of the settings that allow you to picture everything without painting completely for you. In a field of usually mediocre novels, Elizabeth Hoyt stands out and delivers a feather light hurricane. The quality of her stories are second to none and Wicked Intentions is a delightful adventure I would recommend to anyone in the market for an enjoyable read.

I look forward to the next in the series.

7 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

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This is a terrific Georgian amateur sleuth romantic suspense

In 1737 someone is murdering people in London's dark alleys. The homicides are so gruesome rumors spread that the Ghost of St. Giles is the culprit.

When his mistress becomes a victim, Lord Lazarus Huntington vows to find the killer. To make his investigation succeed, Lazarus needs help so hr asks Widow Temperance, whom he just meets over a baby rescue. Lord Lazarus Huntington needs Temperance's St. Giles' insider knowledge due to her owning the Home for Unfortunate Infants and Foundling Children to assist him. She agrees on the condition he find her a patron to fund her home. They investigate in seemingly every nook and cranny of St. Giles but the psychopath seems several steps ahead of them leaving behind grisly corpses for the pair to "admire" the work. As the amateur sleuths fall in love while chasing a predator, they find the Ghost of St. Giles seems to be there when they most need it.

This is a terrific Georgian amateur sleuth romantic suspense starring a refreshing heroine and an avenging hedonist. The story line is a fast-paced cat and mouse thriller with the romantic subplot enhancing the overall tension as Temperance becomes the cheese. Historical romantic suspense fans will relish this action-packed tale as a serial killer stalks London while also being the matchmaking catalyst between the lead couple pursuing after this deadly predator.

Harriet Klausner

7 out of 9 people found this review helpful.

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sand7s

Posted June 29, 2012

I Also Recommend:

Very good book. I loved the characters. The cover. finished it v

Very good book. I loved the characters. The cover. finished it very quickly

6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

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Frenchiebella

Posted September 23, 2012

I just found this author through Eloisa James, and I love her!!

I just found this author through Eloisa James, and I love her!! Her books are very easy to understand and I just love some steamy romance =) A MUST READ!! =)

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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Good beginning to a great series!!!

I loved all the characters and it was a good lead in to a great series! I have enjoyed all the Maiden Lane books. The only problem I had with this story was the fact that the main hero was planning to coerce the widow into an affair and use her. Of course he fell in love with her so that made up for it.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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RainLW

Posted December 28, 2012

Highly Recommended

I am now reading all of her books

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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EROTIC AND SUSPENSEFUL
Review available on Mina's Bookshelf blo

EROTIC AND SUSPENSEFUL Review available on Mina's Bookshelf blog. I just turned the last page of this historical romance novel wondering why it took me so long to pick up a book from the titles list of this gifted author .My love affair with romantic fiction started with historical romance novels and what mostly drew me towards this genre is the way the characters&rsquo; quest for love unfolds on different moral grounds, facing different challenges and following different rituals. The beauty of some HRN is that their storylines center substantially around a love relationship , but provide at the same time a clever portrait of the historical backdrop against which the matters of the heart evolve. In Wicked Intentions, a Georgian Era HRN (1751), the colorful and detailed characterization of lead couple, support cast, and their environment, appealed to my taste for historical accuracy. It&rsquo;s that age of elegance when men used to wear white wigs and tricorne hats, when good society women used to sport magnificent and elaborated gowns with audacious d&eacute;collet&eacute;. It&rsquo;s also the time when the darkest poverty cast long shadows on St. Giles, the most infamous London district, that underworld of souls doomed to move among slums, dreary orphanages, overcrowded and crumbling buildings, bawdy houses, dirty alleys, and squalid places where the unhealthy addiction to gin could be appeased.

Prim widow Temperance Dews runs an orphans house with her brother in St. Giles. When their lack of funds threatens to put an end to their charitable institution, she strikes a deal with rakish and ill-reputed Lazarus Huntington, Lord Caire: he will introduce her to London good society , help her find a sponsor for her foundling home, and in return she will guide him through the squalid alleys of St. Giles in order to hunt down the murder of his latest mistress. Drawn to each other by an unsuspected affinity, their initial bargain turns into a much deeper and complex bond, exposing them to mortal dangers and elusive enemies.

The most interesting aspect of this dark tale is that both Temperance and Lazarus are flawed characters. He is notorious for his unusual sexual proclivities and believes himself to be &quot;emotionally numb&quot;. A traumatic childhood experience and a fundamental lack of warmth and affection within his own family triggered also an extreme revulsion for intimacy and physical touch, at least until he meets Temperance and falls for her. Clad in an armor of propriety and moral obligation to the cause of the orphans, she hides a sensual and passionate nature that led her to a sinful act in the past, a sin she is trying to atone for, denying herself any chance of emotional attachment either to a man or to her own charges at the foundling home. Caire&rsquo;s blunt sensuality stirs Temperance&rsquo;s curiosity and their mutual attraction will guide them on a path of exploration of their vulnerable and true natures. At the end of their journey Lazarus and Temperance will both find self-forgiveness and mutual healing, finding in each other their perfect match, like two halves of a whole.In this highly gratifying tale the author blended the scorching romance with an intriguing murder mystery element, advancing the narration on multiple levels, the central theme of Lazarus and Temperance&rsquo;s redemption, and three subplots that set the scene for the Maiden Lane sequels. The combination of that particular historical setting, flawed and complex characters, fluid narration, suspenseful plot and interesting subplots really worked out well for me. Two thumbs up!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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Such an engaging story.

What a great story. There was so much going on I didn't want to put it down.

There's the story of Lord Caire and Temperance. There's the story going on with the foundling house and all the orphans. There's the story of the murder. There's the story of the ghost of St. Giles. There's the story behind Temperance's family. So much going on, and yet it all flowed together so seamlessly that I didn't really realize how much was going on until I finished the book.

I really liked Temperance. She was willing to do what it took to keep the foundling house and her brother, from falling into ruins. Which is where Lore Caire comes into the story. Both Temperance and Lord Caire have so much "baggage" that their relationship seems is destined to never happen. Temperance's secret has haunted her for the last 9 years, and watching her unwrap that past, through Lord Caire's urging and help, was so engrossing.

This was beautifully written. Like I said there is so much going on. It would seem that with all the different stories going on within the main story that it would get confusing, but it was all weaved together so well that I didn't really notice it. The story is also fast-paced, there were very few lulls in the story. So not only didn't I want to put it down, but it moves so fast that I didn't really get a chance to put it down. I was able to finish the entire book in only three sittings.

There were a few things that weren't fully "tied up" in the end, but given that this is the first in the Maiden Lane Series I'm sure that was done on purpose. The loose ends really built up so much anticipation that I can't wait to get the next in the series.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted April 12, 2013

Good Read

Good plot and characters. Good flow to the story. Keep you interested.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted March 29, 2013

Absolutely loved!!

I am so glad I have discovered this author. I will definitely be reading more! I loved this story and all the characters. The sex was hot but didn't overwhelm the story. I can't wait to read book two in this series!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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skelley55

Posted November 7, 2014

I really enjoyed this book. Both the hero and heroine are engag

I really enjoyed this book. Both the hero and heroine are engaging making you want to know more.

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Well th the...er..physical romance in this book was very satisfy

Well th the...er..physical romance in this book was very satisfying.

In other words, they were HOT. Sometimes you read some sex scenes and you wonder if the writer trolled a dictionary looking for every flowery description they could find and threw it all on the page. And you wonder if you are reading a sex scene, or a gardening handbook. Just too much...and too...what's the word...TAME. I like my sex scenes realistic, and gritty. If you are trying to tell me these two people have an uncontrollable animal passion for each others...I better well feel it. I say this book delivered on that score.

But anyway...enough about that...

The plot. And there was one. The story starts of right in the middle of the drama. Temperance runs a home with her brother that houses and looks after destitute children. And one night coming back from picking up a new baby for the home, they come across Lord Caire leaning over a dead body. They haul tail away from the scene. But unknown to Temperance, he follows her home and to her surprise enlists her to help him find the killer of his prostitute mistress in exchange for helping her find a new Patron for their home for children. Thus begins their relationship that from the beginning sets sparks flying all around them...and their loins afire apparently. The mystery around who was killing these prostitutes I thought was kept interesting. It was a nice tasty snack to the underlying romance storyline, it added some extra, action and drama, and was ended not too predictably once the killer was revealed.

But what I liked the most were the glimpses we got of the other characters in the world of Maiden Lane. Winter the older, long suffering brother; Silence the youngest sister and Asa the mysterious. And of course, The Ghost of St Giles, who was like some vigilante running about saving people in St Giles in a harlequin mask and costume. I have my suspicions about who it is of course. All of these characters were very interesting and I got the distinct impression that their stories will be fleshed out in future books. I like that the threads from this first book will be continued through the next, it adds a richness to the world created, almost adds a realness to it.

This book only lost points because I thought it kind of dropped the ball with Lord Caire's back story. Why was he the way he was, so emotionally stunted? What happened to him in his past that made touch painful to him? And are we to believe love cured him of this problem. This are not that neat. After finishing the book, I realized we never really learned what drove him, other than the need to find this killer. Something was hinted at that happened when he was young, but it was dropped. I would like to know this story. What about his father? Why does he refuse to speak of him? My hope is that, like in this book, how we got glimpse of other people’s point of view and stories...that maybe more of his is coming.

Overall. Book was worth the read and the characters and world grabbed me enough that I was almost tempted to get the next book right away.

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MADreaderMD

Posted June 5, 2014

This is a great beginning to the Maiden Lane series. I had actua

This is a great beginning to the Maiden Lane series. I had actually read most of the other books in the series before getting around to this one. It is fun to see the little hints about what the characters will become further into the series, but the author is very crafty and gives nothing away!

Lord Caire is searching the dangerous neighborhood of St. Giles for the murderer of his mistress. When he spots Temperance Dews in a dark alley on one of her trips to rescue a sick orphaned baby, he follows her to the foundling home and proposes a bargain. He wants to hire her to be his guide in St. Giles. Temperance is tempted by the handsome, wealthy man in more ways than one, but instead of just accepting money for her services, she wants Lord Caire to introduce her to members of society so she can find a benefactor for the home.

There is instant attraction between the two, but Temperance is trying to suppress her desires, which she sees as a sin. And Lord Caire has never loved anyone. He feels he doesn't deserve the love of a decent woman like Temperance. Their struggle to be accepting of their own faults and realize that they can love and be loved is very satisfying.

Of course, the mystery surrounding the Ghost of St. Giles is also intriguing and adds some swashbuckling action to the tale.

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Anonymous

Posted April 11, 2014

Riley

Walks there.

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Anonymous

Posted April 11, 2014

Zack

Go to house res 12 sweetheart then we good.

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Anonymous

Posted January 25, 2014

Great series- compelling characters you want to follow

-

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Historical Romance is my favorite genre (Jane Austen forever!) a

Historical Romance is my favorite genre (Jane Austen forever!) and don’t know what took me so long to find Elizabeth Hoyt and her Maiden Lane series because they have all been a delight to read. I enjoyed the WICKED INTENTIONS so much I immediately bumped the rest of the series to the top of my TBR list.

I really liked how she developed the romance between Lord Caire and Temperance, a true case of opposites attracting. Per the synopsis description, Lazarus Huntington, Lord Caire is infamous for his wild, sensual needs, whereas Widowed Temperance Dews, who knows St. Giles like the back of her hand, has spent a lifetime caring for its inhabitants at the foundling home her family established. A degenerate and a do-gooder, yet they were a perfect match and I enjoyed their time together in the book very much. Their story begins as Lord Caire rescues Temperance from the dangerous situation she gets herself into when she is out at night in St. Giles trying to save an infant. Lord Caire was there looking for the killer of his mistress and decides he has an opportunity to use Temperance’s status in the St. Giles community, so he blackmails her into helping him. He believes her to be well-liked and trusted so he hopes the St. Giles residents would open up to her where they had shut him down. At first he wanted her not so much as a guide, although that was the term continually used, but as a liaison, and then I think after their first outing it was indeed just an excuse to indulge his fascination with her. And indulge he did, her seduction and his enchantment kept me eagerly turning the pages for more.

Lord Caire’s character was especially delicious and cleverly written; I looked forward to each scene with him in it. This is probably a good place to point out that EH’s writing style is definitely more erotic than most historical novels I've read. He really was an unrepentant bad boy who owned his reputation and his behavior. Frankly, I loved his dirty talk and was right there with Temperance in how she reacted to it. I really loved their romance. I felt they saw right through each other right away which enabled them to be comfortable with each other in an odd way. I suppose I felt sorry for both of them being shut off emotionally and repressed in each their own way and felt that common ground unconsciously fed their intense attraction.

There was also a side story about Temperance’s sister Silence and her husband, William, which I really liked. As a matter of fact, Silence was one of my favorite characters. I was glad to see she gets her own story in a later book in the Maiden Lane series. And of course, the mystery of the murderer and the Ghost of St. Giles were great plot devices, but for me it was all about the romance and redemption between Lord Caire and Temperance.

My one and only minor complaint being there were several points and characters brought into play that were either not fully developed or not fully explained. I found that frustrating and this vagueness took a little away from my overall opinion, but then I am known to be a bit impatient and am hoping this was deliberate to promote the series continuity and to contain the mystery portion of each book. Even with this I would rate this book 4.5 stars.

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Anonymous

Posted November 1, 2013

soft core porn dressed up in period costumes

only buy this if you are looking for soft core pornography.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted October 24, 2013

First Read

Loved it.

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Anonymous

Posted August 14, 2013

Entertaining and Sensual Romance

The first volume in Hoyt's new Maiden Lane series is a quick, entertaining read. There is plenty of passion, a bit of mystery, and some intriguing characters. I liked the chemistry between Temperance and Lazarus. My only complaint is that the murder mystery which brought the two of them together wasn't really much of a mystery.

Recommended to fans of Elizabeth Thornton and Amanda Quick.

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